Arya Dipa, Bandung – The West Java administration is offering a project to construct 24.8 kilometers of road connecting several mining sites across the province to mining companies and investors, as the administration has finished designing the project.

Adrian Wail Akhlas, Jakarta – The country's foreign exchange (forex) reserves rose to near record-high levels in January at US$131.7 billion owing to foreign inflows from global bonds issuances and the oil and gas sector, Bank Indonesia (BI) announced Friday.

A. Muh. Ibnu Aqil, Jakarta – Every now and then you might come across headlines about those who are arrested in Indonesia for smuggling marijuana, while some are nabbed for growing cannabis for medicinal use or producing marijuana-laced cake, and you might wonder: How illegal is cannabis in the country?

Marchio Irfan Gorbiano, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has expressed a desire to accelerate the local manufacturing of long-range military drones – the first of their kind in the country – to 2022.

Beritasatu, Jakarta – More Indonesian top politicians have voiced opposition to the proposed repatriation of hundreds of former Islamic State fighters now living in foreign countries.

Even chief security minister Mahfud M.D. said he personally opposed the return of the so-called foreign terrorist fighters, or FTFs.

Jakarta – The Attorney General's Office (AGO) named on Thursday holding company PT Maxima Integra director Joko Hartono Tirto as a new suspect in a case of alleged corruption involving ailing state-owned insurer Asuransi Jiwasraya.

Antara, Jakarta – The Indonesian Consumers Foundation (YLKI) urged the Business Competition Supervisory Commission (KPPU) and police to investigate the sudden price hike of face masks amidst the novel coronavirus outbreak.

Ahmad Faiz, Jakarta – Advocate for Novel Baswedan, Saor Siagian, has lamented the police's move in holding a closed crime scene reconstruction of the acid attack case against his client. Saor said the public should be allowed to witness the process.

Adrian Wail Akhlas, Jakarta – The novel coronavirus outbreak has pushed investors to leave the country's financial markets, resulting in a foreign outflow of about Rp 11 trillion (US$805.9 million) last week, which has put pressure on the rupiah, a central banker has said.

Jakarta – The Surakarta chapter of the Democratic Party has declared its support for President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's eldest son, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, in the upcoming Surakarta mayoral election in Central Java.

Johannes Nugroho – For the past two months, Indonesia's press and social media have been abuzz with reports of pretender kingdoms on the island of Java. These "royal courts", complete with devout local followings, have made some sensational claims.

Emma Connors – When Indonesian President Joko Widodo delivers a planned address to a joint sitting of Parliament in Canberra on Monday, he might just have convinced his own legislators to approve the long-awaited free trade deal between the two countries – or it might still be in what his government has described as "the final stages of ratification".

Budiarti Utami Putri, Dio Suhenda, Jakarta – The National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan) stated that the raids on online commercial sex workers by Gerindra politician Andre Rosiade underlined the trend of masculine morality.

Indonesia has reached an important milestone in the animal rights movement, as the government has officially banned traveling dolphin circus shows throughout the country.

Jakarta (Reuters) – Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Thursday (Feb 6) ordered government officials to find a permanent solution to prevent devastating annual forest fires that he understood had been almost entirely started by humans but made worse by climate change.

Arya Dipa, Bandung – The West Java administration will construct waste treatment sites that process plastic waste into diesel fuels and raw plastic materials that it hopes will be used by 2023.

Jakarta – Bali Governor Wayan Koster has issued a gubernatorial decree regulating the province's traditional liquors in a bid to preserve and promote the drinks in the region.

Jakarta – East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) Governor Viktor Bungtilu Laiskodat has agreed to lend Timor Leste a helping hand as the neighboring country pleads for assistance from Indonesia to quarantine its citizens airlifted from coronavirus-stricken China, an NTT administration official says.

Jakarta – The coronavirus outbreak originating in the Chinese city of Wuhan has affected imports of garlic from China, causing the commodity's prices to rocket by more than 40 percent as stocks plummet in Central Java.

M Rosseno Aji, Dio Suhenda, Jakarta – The Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) accused the Chairman of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) Firli Bahuri as being authoritarian in leading the KPK, as apparent in the polemic regarding the dismissal of investigator, Commissioner Rossa Purbo Bekti.

Dili – The government of Timor-Leste has expressed its gratitude to New Zealand for helping to evacuate 17 Timorese students from Wuhan, the city in China which is the centre of the corona-virus outbreak.

Diana Mariska, Beritasatu, Jakarta – Economic contraction in Indonesia's easternmost regions of Maluku and Papua has shown up an Achilles heel in the government's approach to development, economists have said.

Diana Mariska, Jakarta – Communality remains the one thing to sustain art communities in Indonesia, allowing them to survive amid dearth of sponsorship and a government too busy papering over cracks in its funding programs with increasingly empty "creative industry" neologisms.

Ghina Ghaliya and Made Anthony Iswara, Jakarta – Lawmakers have officially ratified the Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IA-CEPA), marking a new chapter of cooperation between the neighbors.

At least 374 House of Representative members agreed to the bilateral pact during a plenary session on Thursday.

Marchio Irfan Gorbiano, Jakarta – Prominent New Order finance minister and member of the so-called "Berkeley Mafia" JB Sumarlin passed away at the age of 87 in Jakarta on Thursday.

Finance Ministry acting spokesman Nufransa Wira Sakti confirmed the news.

Jakarta – Gerindra Party lawmaker Andre Rosiade's efforts to catch a prostitute in flagrante has drawn criticism from rights activists and watchdogs, who said that the West Sumatra politician's stunt did little to address underlying social problems.

Norman Harsono, Jakarta – Indonesia will need private sector help to provide the Rp 11 trillion (US$803 million) in funding required to power isolated regions this year, as the country's largest electricity company PLN can only fund one fifth of the projects, according to a government official.

Riska Rahman, Jakarta – Bank Indonesia (BI) has injected about Rp 25 trillion (US$1.82 billion) into the country's financial markets as investors sell off assets over fears that the rapidly spreading coronavirus will hurt the global economy.

Jakarta – Timor Leste Planning and Strategic Investment Minister Xanana Gusmao confirmed that the country had requested assistance from Indonesia to put 17 of its citizens who are soon to be repatriated from China because of the coronavirus outbreak into quarantine in Bali, despite a prior refusal by the island's administration.

Haeril Halim, Banda Aceh – Agus plunges a wooden paddle into his coffee and marijuana-filled wok, taking care to roast just the right mix of ingredients – and stay one step ahead of police in Indonesia's Aceh province.

His contraband brew is a hit with locals and buyers in other parts of the Southeast Asian archipelago, who pay 1.0 million rupiah ($75) for a kilo of it.

Marchio Irfan Gorbiano and Rizki Fachriansyah, Jakarta – Amid concerns over a decline in foreign tourist arrivals as a result of the coronavirus outbreak, Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Wishnutama says that the government has prepared measures to ensure that Indonesia's tourism sector remains healthy and lucrative despite the depressed mood.

Jakarta – Spicy food sellers in Jakarta are fretting about the future of their business as chili prices in the area have skyrocketed.

Adrian Wail Akhlas, Jakarta – Indonesia's economy grew 5.02 percent annually in 2019 because of weakening investments and exports, Statistics Indonesia (BPS) announced on Wednesday.

Jakarta – Several areas across Tangerang in Banten have been inundated by floodwaters for four days and the levels keep rising.

Most of the affected areas were housing complexes, such as the Garden City Residence Periuk, with local authorities estimating that hundreds of families were affected.

Adrian Wail Akhlas, Jakarta – The Financial Services Authority (OJK) is planning to reform the regulation and supervision of the nonbank financial industry following the revelation of alleged corruption at ailing state-owned insurer PT Asuransi Jiwasraya.

Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's second term has yet to show any signs of progress in resolving human rights violations, the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development has concluded.

Jakarta – The National Civil Service Agency (BKN) is using a detector to prevent talismans being used in a month-long competency test of civil servant candidates at Tasikmalaya city hall in West Java that started on Saturday.

Eko Wahyudi, Jakarta – The Indonesian Trade Union Confederation (KSPI) president Said Iqbal announced that his side was set to stage a demonstration against the premium hike of the Health Care and Social Security Agency (BPJS Kesehatan) insurance on Thursday, February 6.

Ni Komang Erviani, Denpasar – Balinese authorities have confirmed that the resort island has been plagued by African swine fever (ASF) following the deaths of nearly 1,000 pigs in the province over the past few months.

Ainur Rohmah – Women in Indonesia still face challenges ranging from deeply entrenched patriarchal attitudes – due to cultural or religious beliefs – to a lack of government support for legislation that can guarantee their rights and protect them from various forms of violence.

Budi Sutrisno, Jakarta – City-owned bus operator PT Transjakarta made Jakarta public transportation history on Tuesday for achieving its goal of serving one million customers in a day.

Astri Yuanasari, Lea Citra, Jakarta – Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) researcher Kurnia Ramadhana believes that the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) is not serious about dealing with the bribery case involving ensuring a seat for a lawmaker from the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) in the House of Representatives (DPR).

Triyan Pangastuti, Gora Kunjana, Jakarta – Indonesia's economy expanded by 5.02 percent in real terms last year, missing the government's growth target and posting its slowest growth in four years as exports contracted while investment and manufacturing stalled, the Central Statistics Agency said on Wednesday.

Jakarta – East Java Police have dismantled a syndicate they accuse of selling endangered animals that allegedly operated in several areas in East Java.

The suspects admitted running the business over the past two years, according to the police.

An Indonesian woman who caused a huge controversy by bringing a dog into a mosque last year was found guilty of blasphemy in court today, though she has been acquitted due to her mental illness.

Now we know prostitution totally exists, you guys, and we can thank one of our elected representatives for the enlightenment.

Amanda Siddharta – Wili Lo spent all afternoon in the backstage area of a music festival in Bogor, a satellite city just outside the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, last Saturday.

Maikel Jefriando, Jakarta – The Indonesian government has submitted a sweeping tax bill to parliament that proposes corporate tax cuts and seeks to make internet giants pay more taxes, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said on Wednesday.

Riska Rahman, Jakarta – Coordinating Economic Affairs Minister Airlangga Hartarto says that the now global coronavirus outbreak from China might become one of main challenges for Indonesia's economic growth this year.

The Morrison government has joined with Labor to shoot down a senate inquiry into East Timor's controversial oil and gas project.

Crossbench senator Rex Patrick has warned Australia that not doing more to help its northern neighbour with the Greater Sunrise project could give China a strategic boost.